After a prolonged wait, Nigerians can finally retrieve their passports as the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has officially confirmed the elimination of the backlog in passport applications. Dotun Aridegbe, a Deputy Comptroller of Immigration and spokesperson for the Immigration Service, shared in an exclusive conversation with The Guardian that they have put an end to the days of passport application delays.
This achievement follows a directive from the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who instructed the NIS to process and clear the more than 200,000 pending passport applications within a two-week timeframe. Tunji-Ojo issued this directive shortly after assuming office in Abuja during a meeting with Caroline Adepoju, Acting Comptroller-General of NIS, and Yinka Fisher, Managing Director of Iris Smart Technologies, the company responsible for producing the passports.
Tunji-Ojo emphasized that this directive was given to fulfill his commitment to removing obstacles in the passport and immigration document acquisition process. In response to the minister's directive, Adepoju swiftly organized an implementation team within the NIS hierarchy, which achieved significant success.
Aridegbe encourages Nigerians who have applied for passports but have not collected them yet to visit the passport offices to do so, assuring applicants that the NIS is dedicated to ensuring their satisfaction.
With the backlog now cleared, Nigerians can obtain their international passports promptly, free from unnecessary delays.